Ralph Lauren quietly shuttered its two-year-old 20,000-square-foot store last week. Other brands are expected to close boutiques in a city that has lost its luster for cash-rich mainland Chinese tourists.

AHH-SPA: It’s easy to leave the babble of Bebelplatz behind for a calming, cultural or culinary moment. The Spa at Hotel de Rome is good as gold. The five-star hotel in an historic bank building on Bebelplatz has a delightfully decadent spa. Guests can bathe in an azure pool surrounded by gleaming golden mosaic tiles in the former jewel vault, perspire their cares away in the Finnish sauna or enjoy a specialized body treatment in the safe-turned-therapy room.

MAN’S WORLD: Men can seize the day at Isseo Homme Spa. Berlin’s first men’s spa at Galeries Lafayette here offers face and body treatments with French Isseo care products for men, plus manicures, pedicures and epilation. For a post-primping bite, head downstairs to Galeries Lafayette’s food hall — one of its newest treasures is a mini Laduree Tea Salon imported from Paris, where you can munch on exquisite macaroons in jewel-toned colors or cool off with luxury ice creams to match in rose, pistachio and caramel. Galeries Lafayette, 76-78 Friedrichstrasse; +49-30-20-9480; galeries-lafayette.de.

KNOWING NOLDE: Bask in brushstrokes just around the corner at a museum highlighting the important German expressionist artist Emil Nolde. Nolde’s intense colors and unrestrained approach to portraiture are on display in the upstairs gallery, and one soothing room is lined with video screens showing the pastoral settings and fields of flowers that inspired Nolde’s art — complete with rushing wind and waves on the soundtrack. An Art & Lunch special also is offered by the Nolde Foundation in conjunction with Michelin-starred restaurant Fischers Fritz. Nolde Foundation Seebuell, Berlin Extension, 55 Jaegerstrasse; +49-30-40-00-4690; nolde-stiftung.de.

TAKE A MOMENT: Relax and take in the designer scenery — before you take out your credit card — at the Piano Bar at Quartier 206. Set in the soaring atrium of the black-and- white shopping palace designed by Pei, Cobb, Fried & Partners, you can sip cappuccino or Champagne while listening to the gentle tones of a grand piano, all the while surrounded by a sweeping marble staircase and a collection of designer boutiques, including Etro, Yves Saint Laurent, Bottega Veneta and the super select Quartier 206 Departmentstore. Quartier 206, 71 Friedrichstrasse; +49-30-20-94-6240; quartier206.de.

CRUISE ALONG: For those who simply want to get away from it all, there are one-hour boat rides just a short hop away from the runway venue. Berlin Wasser Taxi will ferry you past the Pergamon and Bode Museums, Hackesche Markt, the Berliner Dom, past Friedrichstrasse, the Reichstag and government district, the new main railway station and the oyster-shaped congress hall. The cute, open-roofed Dutch boats leave almost every half hour from the Schlossbrücke opposite the Zeughaus on Unter den Linden. Berlin Wasser Taxi, berlinerwassertaxi.de.

WWD's Ultimate Holiday Gift Guide is brought to you by @styleontherise and is complete with the perfect presents for everyone on your list. Click the link in our bio to start shopping NOW. #WWDHoliday #Sponsored

@rebeccaminkoff is bringing self-checkout to high fashion: The brand has partnered with @queuehop to bring its customers self-checkout options, beginning this holiday season at its SoHo store. (📷: @aurorarosephoto)

It was a big night for Demna Gvasalia at the Fashion Awards 2016 in London: The designer took home the award for international ready-to-wear designer for his work at @balenciaga, while his brand @vetements_official scooped international urban luxury brand. (📷: @giovanni_giannoni_photo)

Despite decades of enforcement, the plague of sweatshops still exists in America: "The sad reality is for workers in this industry there are still incredible problems and workers in this industry are subjected to inexcusable levels of violations of our basic labor standards." - David Weil, The Department of Labor Wage and Hour